


Don't Leave Me Again

by HolyKingWasteLand



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attachment Issues, Brotherly Affection, But you do you, Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Five says Fuck a lot, Fluff and Angst, Gen, It's not written as a ship, Not Beta Read, Protective Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy), Protectiveness, Supporting brothers, Swearing, We Die Like Men, fears, good brothers, physical affection, protective older brother, sick author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 09:43:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18029312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HolyKingWasteLand/pseuds/HolyKingWasteLand
Summary: Klaus knows everyone can see how clingy he is towards Five.He doesn't care.





	Don't Leave Me Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Decentcupofcoffee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decentcupofcoffee/gifts).



Klaus knows everyone can see how clingy he is towards Five.

He doesn't care.

Five was always the smart one, the one dad put on a pedestal, the one they all turned to and looked up to. Even through his mean demeanour, they knew he cared for them in his own little way. So it tore Klaus apart when Five disappeared, and then Ben died not a week later.

So yeah, he's clingy about Five. Sue him. (But don't really, he's poor)

They all saw it in Klaus's face whenever Five entered the room, the way it would light up and a smile would tug at his lips. They all saw how much calmer he became whenever Five was around, or how his eyes were never red after he came back. They saw it in the soft smiles and the grabbing of sleeves just to be close to one another.

Five knows why Klaus is clingy, the others just chalk it up to Klaus being Klaus, but he knows better. He knows their father would lock Klaus up in the mausoleum for days at a time, and would tell his siblings that he was "away training". 

Five would blink into the mausoleum and sit with Klaus, comforting him until he heard the jingling of the locks outside and he would blink away after hugging Klaus one more time.

Klaus was getting so much better at controlling his fear when Five was there, but once he disappeared, all that progress stopped and Klaus retracted into himself once more. Then Ben died and Klaus blocked off everything entirely, drowning himself in alcohol and drugs until he wasn't sober more than an hour at most.

Then Five came back.. and Klaus was stoned out of his goddamned mind. Five took him to his room and talked to him, stern but concerned, much like the older brother Klaus once knew him as.

He's been sober for three days.

It was hell, but the small smile on Five's face was all he needed to stay strong (that and also being tied up so he couldn't leave the house to buy drugs).

 

* * *

 

Five enters the lounge room and sits down on the couch beside Klaus, the latter's hand shoots out and grabs onto Five's sleeve, rubbing the fabric between his thumb and index finger. Five doesn't even bat an eye, he just keeps rattling off about something science-y, but they can see how his tense posture relaxes.

Others try to be friendly with him and touch him, but they don't receive the same results. Allison put her hand on his shoulder and he blinked (only a few feet) away so fast  _she_ almost got whiplash. Luther attempted to pat him on the back, but Five blinked into another room (or country, who knows) an Luther's hand just kept going until he awkwardly lowered his hand and walked away.

Vanya is the only other one that can touch him without being rejected, but she's too nervous to initiate physical contact with him.

Casual sleeve holding turns to side hugs; turns to bear hugs; turns to falling asleep on the couch together and so on and so forth.

The one time they found them asleep on the lounge together, the others feared for Klaus's safety. They knew the boys were close, but even this was a bit much for  _Five._ They pushed Allison forward and she leaned over Klaus, about to try and wake him up when Five spoke up, his eyes still shut, and his arms wrapped tightly around Klaus.

"Wake him up and I'll kill you," He threatens in a dark whisper. Hearing the short intake of breath from his sister he cracks an eye open, it's slightly bloodshot from waking so suddenly but he'll deal. "He hasn't slept properly in years so if you wake him I will _kill_ you." He repeats, watching as his siblings quickly back away and retreat from the room.

Klaus shifts in his sleep and starts to open his eyes when Five puts a hand on his cheek, smoothing out the baby-hairs on his brother's hairline. "It's okay Klaus, I'm still here." He hears a soft pleased hum and Klaus quickly falls back asleep, leaving a smile on Five's face as he follows.

 

* * *

 

Klaus and Five sit side by side on the balcony of the roof, Five is talking on and on about something to do with science, and Klaus is half listening, nodding along when he understands a certain phrase or meaning of a word. Five is barely paying attention, so focused on explaining this new thing, but when Klaus pulls his hand away from Five's sleeve, the older quickly stops talking and looks at his brother confused.

"Did I say something?" Five asks, trying to backtrack on his words to see where he may have accidentally hurt his brother's feelings.

"Five.." Klaus pulls his knees up to his chest and wraps his long lanky arms around them, curling himself into a vulnerable position. "I'm scared."

Five blinks owlishly and then scoots closer, leaning in like he's trying to hear a secret. "What are you afraid of?" He asks softly.

"You."

A beat goes by.

"M-me?" Five stutters, seriously confused. "Why would you..?"

There's a long stretch of silence as Klaus collects his thoughts and then he looks down, curling in tighter. "I'm scared that one day you'll look in the mirror and see yourself the way that I see you. You'll realise how- how amazing and talented you are, and that I'm just a dead-weight in comparison to you." He sniffles and looks over at Five with tears in his eyes. "I'm terrified that you'll leave me again."

They hold eye contact for a long while, Five is staring at him like a fish out of water, and Klaus is looking uncomfortable and vulnerable, like he didn't want to admit all that but he had to. Without saying a word, Five pushes himself into Klaus's personal space and pulls the younger into his arms, clutching him tightly (he's shaking but Klaus doesn't mention it).

"Klaus, I- I didn't want to leave, you know that right?" Silence. "You- you know I did everything I could to get back to everyone? To you?" More silence. "Fuck." He swears, his shaking becoming more apparent. "Fuck fuck fuck- how long did you think that I just up and left?"

"..Since now, I guess." Klaus admits, and Five curses again.

"I spent forty-five years alone on a planet that wanted me dead, and I wanted nothing more than to come home- I tried so damn hard but nothing worked. My powers were just.. gone for a while. Recharging or whatever they were doing, but my god Klaus." He takes a deep breath and pulls away to look into Klaus's eyes. "I wanted to come back to you, I regret leaving with every fibre of my being. I'm so sorry- t-that you thought I left- that you thought I just-  _abandoned_ you-"

Klaus reaches up and wraps his arms around Five, effectively silencing him. They sit like that for a while, limbs entangled as they watch the sun begin to rise.

And all is okay in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr!](https://holykingwasteland.tumblr.com/)


End file.
